Friends

Mary’s Monday Musings to Quilt Encouragement
Friends

Laughter rang around the table. The warmth of conversation had nothing to do with the sandwiches and Christmas cookies, but food offered a good excuse to get together. Friendships that endure over years and years through thick and thin bring a special joy. Friends know what ties unite them and where each person’s weaknesses lie and choose to bond around the things that connect. Allowing others into our space and thinking is especially rewarding when it is grounded in mutual interests and values that have created trust.

The Christmas and new year season offers a perfect time to touch base with friends. Extra festive touches are available to set the atmosphere for a joyful time, and hearts are softened by reflection on the miracle of the birth of Jesus and the love He inspires. Gatherings offer opportunities to further nourish relationships. The Christmas season is also a good time to visit shut-ins and bring splashes of joy to people who are confined to their four walls during the holidays, a time when it is easy to feel lonely with the sense of missing out. The gift of smiles, conversations, and a loving grip of a hand can nourish a lonely soul for hours afterwards. Fit in time to reach out to someone without the ability to move about with ease. Perhaps leave something tangible, a note, a cheery card, or a gift to keep the sense of fellowship alive after you leave.